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Monday, September 28, 2015

Yoga's healing power. Teen beats anorexia, credits practice.

Courtesy YogaMaris.net

At age eleven, Maris Degener, from Clayton, California, was
the shy type. By middle school, her phobias toward food developed, due in part to feeling socially uncomfortable, she says.
“I felt that I lacked a solid identity and didn’t belong to a community,” says
Degener, now age 17.

Her compulsive food behaviors worsened freshman
year of high school, as she searched for... something to fill her lonely void.

Courtesy Maris Degener

“I felt so awkward inside and like I needed to be less
noticed,” says Degener.

Getting by on just one small daily meal, Degener ultimately
reached the medical criteria for hospitalization. With her parents’ support, she
entered in to a treatment program for three weeks.

“It stabilized me physically and I was allowed home on bedrest.
Until then, I'd been impervious to how severe my eating disorder was and any kind of
negative consequences from malnourishment,” says the teen.

Still “emotionally unhealed, and uninterested in fully
recovering,” six months later, Degener says she was allowed to exercise and tried
a free Vinyasa yoga class she’d spotted through an advertisement.

“Something clicked. I was able to make the connection
between what was going on in my head and my body," says Degener. "It was as though they were
two separate beings.My breath was the
linking component to come in to one cohesive being.“Yoga gave
me more awareness. It brings you back to natural signals and wanting to nourish
and get stronger.”

Degener gradually upped her yoga practice from once or twice
weekly to daily, enjoying the freedom and philosophy it provided her.

“I'd never felt graceful, but Vinyasa yoga is particularly
flowy and I loved the grace my teacher gave her class. A book on the Yamas and
Niyamas (morals and ethics) also resonated with me, particularly the subject of
non-violence to yourself and others,” says Degener.

Gaining physical and mental strength through yoga grew so
fulfilling and fueling, Degener later decided she wanted to teach it.

“My teacher connected with me and offered me a teacher training scholarship. I couldn’t be more grateful. While intense, it was a good thing
and something I really needed,” says Degener, who achieved her 200-hour
certification last December.Since then, the High School senior has taught other kids in
her grade during lunch hour and this past May, at the yoga studio she practices
at.
“I teach three classes a week,” says Degener. “I’m more comfortable teaching
adults than kids. Adults have a stronger practice. I feel like I bring self-explorative,
philosophical lessons. A lot of my classes tell a personal story. I encourage
the power of sharing your personal story,being authentic, and learning from your experiences.”

Hoping to one day pen a book about her journey, Degener's
immediate plans are to continue teaching, mentor others and focus on getting in
to college. Since first sharing her story on CNN, she’s gained a healthy
following on Instagram, and attracts 5000 daily views on her blog.

Admittedly, Degener says, “I’ll always consider myself in
remission. An eating disorder is like cancer. It’s never really gone. There
will be bad and good days, but I’m secure in who I am and know I’m taking care
of my body to the best of my abilities. I’m in a clear place mentally and
physically.”